The New Way To Mani

I have a little story to tell. Bear with me, there's a prize for
those who make it to the end.

Rex Features

I was sitting in the fabulous, elegant The Wolseley restaurant,
on London's Piccadilly, a few years ago with a work colleague who
was about to get married. This girl was a cool chick: a poised,
intelligent, self-made career woman with confidence and style.

At that time I was writing a regular etiquette column in Brides,
so I asked her if there was anything I could counsel her on -
perhaps an interfering mother or a jealous sister, or a miserable
bridesmaid that needed to be fired, fast?

"I'm wearing a £14,000 couture gown and hand-made shoes from
Prada's atelier in Milan," she deadpanned. "I am not, I repeat NOT,
wearing a mediocre, off-the-rack nail polish that's been used on
dozens of other nails." Oh. Oh my. Was she a lunatic bridezilla
gently losing the plot? Was she stringing me along in the biggest
gag of the morning? Or was she completely, totally right?

I sort of think that, perhaps, forgiving the heady, heavy
madness of wedding perfection, she had a point. If you've chosen to
have a day that's shaped, sewn, seamed and silhouetted to within an
inch - no, a millimetre - of your soul, then why shouldn't you
command the same standards of your manicure - which will be
scrutinised by every guest who demands to see your beautiful
engagement ring.

I wish I'd had a good answer for her back then. At the time all
I could muster up was "Madonna wore OPI Italian Love Affair when
she married Guy Ritchie - she's the Don, just go for that." But
today, I'd have pressed a note in her hand with the words
Palette London scribbled on it.

Bespoke, couture nail polish has arrived. Colour-matched to any
fabric, swatch, paint chart, crayon or photo, hand-mixed by expert
colourists and delivered to your door. This is what Palette London
do, and they do it very, very well. Luxurious formulas, beautifully
presented and coordinated with a top coat in your choice of matt,
gloss or pearl. Should you be looking for a nail polish that's
every bit as personalised as your outfit, I don't think there's
anything else quite so insanely decadent as this. Obviously, you'll
need to have it applied by a masterful manicurist who can come to
your home or wedding venue… but I'll keep that for another
column.

Palette London's Bespoke Nail Polish Service is priced at
£75 (for 3 products including base coat, colour and top coat) and
£50 (for colour alone); available at www.PaletteLondon.com/bespoke

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